Maintenance & Operations Director (PCN 250286)

Full Job Description

ATTENTION ALL APPLICANTS!

Lead Operations Where the Road Ends and the Weather Begins

Alaska is not a typical transportation environment and this is not a typical operations role.

From Arctic winter storms and coastal erosion to remote rural airports and mountain passes, Alaska’s transportation system operates in one of the most demanding environments in the world.

The Maintenance & Operations Director is the executive leader responsible for keeping that system moving, safely, reliably, and efficiently, across a vast and diverse landscape.

If you are driven by purpose, complexity, and impact, this is a rare opportunity to lead statewide operations at scale.

What you will be doing:
As the Maintenance & Operations Director, you will serve as the statewide leader responsible for Alaska’s transportation maintenance system, overseeing highways, rural airports, and critical infrastructure across one of the most challenging operating environments in the country.

This role sets the strategic direction, engineering standards, and operational priorities that guide maintenance delivery statewide. You will ensure alignment between maintenance, engineering, and capital programs while supporting regional teams who execute day-to-day operations.

You will lead with a balance of technical expertise and operational leadership, ensuring system reliability, emergency readiness, fiscal responsibility, and long-term asset performance.

In this role, you will:

• Provide statewide leadership for maintenance and operations, setting priorities, ensuring consistent standards, and supporting regional execution.
• Oversee budgets, workforce strategy, and resource allocation to ensure effective stewardship and operational efficiency.
• Lead maintenance engineering, technical standards, environmental compliance, and integration with asset management and capital planning.
• Ensure statewide operational readiness and coordinated emergency response to natural disasters and system disruptions.
• Lead and develop a distributed workforce while advancing modernization through data, performance management, and continuous improvement.
• Represent maintenance and operations in executive, legislative, and interagency settings.
  
  

Our organization, mission, and culture:The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is implementing an organizational evolution designed to strengthen service delivery and modernize how transportation infrastructure is managed across the department.

The department is moving toward a structure where functional leaders guide strategy, standards, and coordination, while regional districts continue to deliver services locally.

Within this model, the Maintenance & Operations Director provides department-wide leadership for transportation system performance, ensuring operational readiness, consistent standards, asset stewardship, and strong coordination with capital project delivery.

This position plays a central role in ensuring that maintenance needs, asset management priorities, and capital investments are aligned across the full lifecycle of Alaska’s transportation infrastructure.

The Director will also lead the development of a maintenance engineering function that provides technical leadership, engineering support, and operational guidance to districts across Alaska.

This is a rare opportunity to shape how one of North America’s most geographically complex

The benefits of joining our team:

Working for Alaska DOT&PF means leading transportation operations at a scale and impact few agencies offer.

Our teams maintain infrastructure that connects communities, supports economic development, and ensures access to essential services across one of the most geographically vast states in the nation.

This role offers:

• Executive leadership responsibility with meaningful public impact

• The opportunity to modernize and strengthen transportation operations

• Engagement with complex operational and environmental challenges

• Collaboration with experienced professionals committed to serving Alaskans

Few places offer the opportunity to lead transportation operations across terrain ranging from Arctic tundra to coastal rainforests while directly affecting the daily lives of communities across an entire state.

Join the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities is building a modern, resilient, and agile transportation organization capable of meeting today’s challenges and tomorrow’s demands.

We are looking for a leader ready to help guide that future. If you are motivated by mission, leadership, and the opportunity to serve Alaska, we encourage you to apply.

The working environment you can expect:

This position may be based in any Alaska DOT&PF regional office, with flexibility in duty station depending on the selected candidate. The role supports a statewide program and requires regular coordination across all regions.

Frequent travel throughout Alaska is expected, including visits to remote communities, maintenance stations, and rural airports to support operations and maintain statewide alignment.

The work environment includes a combination of office-based leadership, virtual coordination, and field engagement. You will work closely with executive leadership, regional teams, and external partners in a highly collaborative and fast-paced setting.

This role supports a 24/7 operational system, and while day-to-day work is structured, responsiveness during critical events and statewide priorities is essential.

Who we are looking for:

This position requires a leader who combines strong engineering and operational expertise with the ability to lead a complex, statewide organization.

The ideal candidate will bring:

• Extensive experience in transportation, infrastructure maintenance, or large-scale field operations
• Proven leadership of large, geographically dispersed programs and teams
• Strong experience in budgeting, workforce management, and operational planning
• Experience leading emergency response or operating in high-risk, time-sensitive environments
• Understanding of infrastructure lifecycle management and asset stewardship
• Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change and build alignment across diverse teams

Successful candidates will have knowledge and/or experience in transportation agencies, public works, heavy civil construction, aviation operations, or similar large-scale operational environments.

This role requires strengths in strategic leadership, program oversight, financial stewardship, and organizational change.

Requirements

Positions in this job class are in the Partially Exempt Service under AS 39.25.120(c)(2).

Special Note:
Departments are authorized by Personnel Rule 2 AAC 07.015 to identify Division Directors by their specific division titles.

Qualifications

***PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY***

COVER LETTER

Applicants are requested to submit a one-page cover letter that addresses the following:

• Your leadership approach and how you build alignment, accountability, and trust across large, diverse teams
• Your perspective on the future of transportation maintenance and operations, including opportunities for innovation and improvement
• Why this role—and Alaska—interest you, and how your experience prepares you to lead in a complex, statewide environment
  
  

EDUCATION To verify education is being used to meet and/or support the required minimum qualifications/competencies, you must fill in the Education section of the application.

If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed.

Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials used to meet or support the minimum qualifications/competencies for a position and are required with each application.

(Unofficial is okay; please ensure the institution/URL name is listed on the transcripts).

Transcripts can be attached at the time of application or provided at the time of interview; if not, transcripts will be required before employment.SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATIONEducation completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements, if applicable.

If utilizing this education you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S.

education programs; or an accredited U.S.

state university reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the state university.

It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.

WORK EXPERIENCEIf using work experience not already documented in your application, also provide the employer’s name, your job title, dates of employment, and whether full-or part-time.

Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported, and minimum qualifications are clearly met.

If they are not, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment.

NOTE: Attaching a resume or curriculum vitae is not an alternative to filling out the application in its entirety.

Noting "see resume or CV" or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination your application is incomplete and removal from consideration for this job posting.

EEO STATEMENT

The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Individuals with disabilities, who require accommodation, auxiliary aides or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-0430 or (907) 465-4095 in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at: P.O.

Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal opportunity employer.

Additional Information

For specific information about this position, please contact the hiring manager at the following:

Name: Jody Thomas, Special Project Liaison

Phone: (907) 322-4141
Email: Jody.Thomas@alaska.gov